Sleep deprivation caused JetBlue pilot's midflight meltdown
Doctor testifies that lack of sleep triggered 'brief psychotic disorder'
LUBBOCK, Texas – A psychologist testified that a JetBlue Airways pilot who screamed about religion and terrorists during a flight had "a brief psychotic disorder" due to lack of sleep, according to a transcript of the trial obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
A judge found Clayton Osbon not guilty by reason of insanity during a brief and unpublicized trial earlier this month in Texas. Osbon had been charged with interference with a flight crew for his behavior on a March 27 flight from New York to Las Vegas.
Passengers said they wrestled the pilot to the floor after he ran through the plane's cabin yelling about Jesus and al-Qaida. The flight was diverted and safely landed in Texas.
According to the court transcripts, psychologist Robert E.H. Johnson testified that Osbon's disorder lasted about a week after the incident. Osborn, who had been taken to a mental health facility in Amarillo after the flight, could not appreciate the nature and quality of his actions and he didn't appreciate their wrongfulness, Johnson testified.
JetBlue declined to comment on the psychologist's testimony, citing no medical authority on the topic. But company spokeswoman Sharon Jones said Osbon did not fly March 24 or March 25, and worked a round-trip flight March 26 that gave him 17 hours of off time leading into the flight March 27.
The Federal Aviation Administration is still investigating, spokesman Lynn Lunsford said, adding: "It's still too early to draw conclusions about any potential actions that might occur as the result of this incident."
Osbon is now at a mental health facility in Fort Worth for further examination.
U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson has sealed Johnson's psychiatric evaluation and said during the trial that it would remain the sealed.
According to court documents, Osbon showed up at the airport unusually late for the March 27 flight, and the plane was in midair when he eerily told his first officer they wouldn't make it to their destination.
He then started rambling about religion, the documents say. He scolded air traffic controllers to quiet down, then turned off the radios altogether and dimmed the monitors in the cockpit. He said aloud that "things just don't matter" and encouraged his co-pilot to take a leap of faith, according to the court documents.
The first officer then "became really worried," according to a sworn affidavit from FBI agent John Whitworth. "Osbon started trying to correlate completely unrelated numbers like different radio frequencies, and he talked about sins in Las Vegas."
Osbon then left the cockpit and tensions on the plane began to escalate, according to witness accounts compiled by investigators. Osbon, described by neighbors in Georgia as tall and muscular, "aggressively" grabbed the hands of a flight attendant who confronted him and later sprinted down the cabin while being chased.
From inside the locked cockpit, which Osbon tried to re-enter by banging on the door, the co-pilot gave an order through the intercom to restrain Osbon, the affidavit said. Passengers wrestled Osbon to the ground, and one female flight attendant's ribs were bruised. No one on board was seriously hurt.
At least 10 passengers sued JetBlue after the incident, claiming they feared for their lives and that the airline was "grossly negligent" in allowing Osbon to fly.
FAA rules going into effect late next year add specifics to how much time a pilot must get to rest. The new rule requires a pilot have a 10-hour rest period, including eight hours of uninterrupted sleep opportunity. Currently, rules specify that a pilot must get nine hours of rest, reducible to eight hours, but do not factor in sleep opportunity.
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